Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on access to the groundhandling market at Community airports
Date: 1994-12-13
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: airport, consumer protection, management, market access, provision of services, transport infrastructure

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

COM(94)590 
f i n al 
Brussels,  13.12.1994 

94/0325 (SYN) 

Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

on access to the groundhandling market at Community airports 

(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

Introduction 

The  adoption  of  the  third  aviation  package(1)  by  the  Council  on  23 July  1992 
represents the final stage in the liberalization process of the air transport sector in the 
context of the completion of the Single Market.  In order to ensure the mil benefit of 
this liberalization it will be necessary, however, to define rules which seek to maintain 
fair  competition between carriers for  the  activities ancillary to air  transport  as such. 
This  is  the  case  in  particular  of  slot  allocation(2)  and  computerized  reservation 
systems(3).  Groundhandling services also fell into this category since, they are essential 
to the activities of air carriers. 

The groundhandling situation at Community airports varies widely. However, at most 
airports  only  the  airport  itself  or  the  national  carrier  are  entitled  to  supply 
groundhandling  services.  Also  self-handling 
is  not  always  allowed.  The 
groundhandling  market  is  therefore  at  present  not  in  line  with  the  rest  of  the  air 
transport sector  and does not meet the  current requirements  of the single market  for 
air transport services as organized within the new legislative  framework. 

This  situation  is  the  cause  of  the  unease  felt  by  carriers.  The  recent  complaints 
received by the Commission are proof of this unease.  Indeed, groundhandling services 
represent a considerable part of the operating costs of air carriers. These costs appear 
to be higher for European carriers than for their American competitors. It is therefore 
essential that European airlines should be able to control their costs better as well as 
tailor their  services better to the needs of their customers. Also groundhandling is an 
important  part  of  the  airlines'  strategy  in  differentiating  their  image  vis-à-vis  the 
customer. 

At present the groundhandling situation does not make it possible to guarantee fair and 
equal treatment, for both the quality and the cost of the services, between the  different 
carriers  operating at the  same airport and in particular between the  dominant  carrier 
and its competitors. 

Although the general principles laid down in the Treaty, particularly the competition 
rules, apply directly to all situations covered by the Treaty, it is nevertheless necessary 
to introduce more specific  rules for  access to the groundhandling market, which will 
take  account of the unique  features  of this market. 

(,) 

(2) 
<3) 

Council Regulations (EEQ Nos 2407/92, 2408/92 and 2409/92 of 23 July 1992 on the 
licensing  of  air  carriers,  access  for  Community  air  carriers  to intra-Community  air 
routes, and fares  and rates for  air services respectively  (OJ No L 240, 24.8.1992). 
Council Regulation (EEQ  No 95/93 of  18 January 1993. 
Council  Regulation (EEQ  No 2299/89  of 24 July  1989. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

The importance of the current groundhandling situation was given particular emphasis 
by the "Comité des Sages" when it recently reported, at the Commission's request, on 
the problems facing the air transport sector in the Community^. The majority of the 
Committee  recommended  full  and  rapid  liberalization  of  groundhandling  services. 
However, some members of the Committee expressed dissenting views on this point 
and stressed the organizational problems and social consequences of such an initiative. 

The  complex  nature  of  this  issue  led  the  Commission  to  consult  the  stakeholders 
formally on the basis of a Consultation Paper on groundhandling services(5) adopted 
at the end of  1993, which put forward a series of guidelines for future  legislation. 

This consultation paper was sent to all parties concerned - airports, groundhandlers, 
carriers,  employers  and  workers,  the  Member  States,  the  accession  countries,  the 
European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee.  It generated a wide 
range  of responses.  In general  air  carriers  and groundhandlers favoured  in varying 
degrees the guidelines put forward. Airports and trade unions expressed opposition to 
full and too abrupt a liberalization  Many replies stressed the need to bear in mind the 
social problems which reform  of this sector could generate in the tight of existing 
situations. 

In  its  Communication  of  June  1994  "The  Way  Forward  for  Civil  Aviation  in 
Europe"(6)  the  Commission  indicated  its  intention  to  take  by  the  end  of  1994  an 
initiative  aimed  at  ensuring  access  to  the  groundhandling  market  at  Community 
airports. Finally, the Council in its Resolution of October 1994 confirmed the need for 
such an initiative. 

The principle of subsidiarity 

Air transport by its nature is an international activity and the supply of groundhandling 
services at Community airports is thus not restricted to national carriers. The quality 
and the cost of the supply of these services directly affect the management of airlines 
and any distortion of the conditions of competition may have financial repercussions 
as well as consequences  for  the image  of the carrier.  It is, therefore,  essential  to 
define the rules of market access for the whole of the Community. 

However, the specific  nature of the sector as well  as the  diversity of the situations 
make it  necessary  to  allow  Member  States to  ensure that  access to  the  market  is 
attained  in  an  objective,  transparent  and non-discriminatory  manner,  while  taking 
account of the constraints at individual airports. 

w 

(5) 
«s> 

"Expanding Horizons.  A report by the Comité des Sages for  Air Transport to the 
European Commission", January 1994. 
SEC(93)  1896 final, 14 December 1993. 
COM(94) 218 final, 1 June 1994. 

n. 

Current situation 

Groundhandling services 

9. 

Groundliandling covers the supply of a variety of airport services which are essential 
to  carriers  for  performing  their  air  transport  activities. These  services  are  directly 
related  to  air  transport  and  range  from  passenger  and  baggage  registration  and 
handling to leading the aircraft  on the ground as well as the cleaning and refuelling 
of the  aircraft.  Without these services flights woiid not be able to take off.  These 
services must be distinguished from activities directly related to air traffic operations, 
such as the provision of installations to users, of navigational aids, of emergency,  fire 
and meteorological services as well as from non-aviation activities, such as the letting, 
concession or use of business premises at the airport.^ 

10. 

The International Air Transport Association (I AT A) has established a nomenclature, 
on the  basis of  which it  is  possible  to group groundhandling  services into eleven 
categories: 

(1) 

ground administration and supervision (Sections  1, 2, 3 and 13 of the I AT A 
Agreement) 

(2) 

passenger handling (Section 4, except Section 4.4.4) 

(3) 

baggage handling (Section 4.4) 

(4) 

freight and mail handling (Section 5) 

(5) 

ramp services (Section 6) 

(6) 

cleaning and aircraft servicing (Section 7) 

(7) 

fuelling  (Section 8) 

(8) 

aircraft maintenance (Section 9) 

(9) 

flight operations and crew administration (Section 10) 

(10) 

surface transport (Section 11) 

(11) 

catering services (Section 12). 

11. 

These different  types of services vary widely: 

firstly, they do not all require the same type or degree of technical skill; 

w 

ICAO Airport Economics Manual, Montreal, 1991. 

4 

some  services,  such  as  baggage  sorting,  require  major  equipment  or 
sophisticated  and  costly  systems  which  are  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
divide or duplicate;  others, such as administrative services, only require staff 
and computer hardware or office  equipment; 

some services, such as ramp handling, take up considerable space because of 
the need for  permanent storage  of large quantities of material  at the airport 
itself  or,  as  in  the  case  of  passenger  services,  require  numerous  customer 
service desks in the terminal; others, such as catering, can to  a large extent 
take place off the airport premises; 

some services, in particular ramp handling, cleaning and catering, entail staff 
and  vehicle  movements  in  the  restricted  areas  of  the  airport;  others  are 
performed  solely in areas open to the public or in  offices. 

The market situation 

12.  A key characteristic of the groundhandling market is that often only the airport itself 
or the national carrier are entitled to supply groundhandling services. In addition self-
handling is not always allowed or is reserved to certain carriers, often selected on the 
basis of criteria which are not transparent. 

13. 

14. 

15. 

16. 

In  such  a  situation  there  is  a risk  that  prices  are fixed in a  discretionary  and not 
genuinely  transparent  manner.  Also  carriers  may  not  always  have  the  means  to 
improve the quality of the services or have them tailored to the specific needs of their 
customers. In addition a groundhandler may favour  certain carriers to the detriment 
of others. The risk is even greater where the monopoly is held by the national carrier 
in direct competition with the airlines which are compelled to use its services. 

The role of airports is to manage and maintain as well as sometimes even build airport 
infrastructure. Airports must make this infrastructure available to users and ensure that 
it functions  efficiently,  in particular by organizing and coordinating all the activities 
that  take place  on the  airport  premises.  Access to  the  groundhandling  market  for 
suppliers  other than the airport would thus not affect  the efficient  operation  of the 
airport. 

The current organization of the groundhandling market no longer meets the needs of 
air transport nor does it comply with the principles of the Single Market. 

The supply of groundhandling services is, however, subject to a number of practical 
constraints, which vary according to the type of service. These constraints concern in 
particular 

available capacity and space: many European airports are corning up against 
problems  of  available  capacity and  space  and, in  some cases, are reaching 
saturation  point.  Some  groundhandling  services,  however,  require  a 
considerable amount of space, either in the terminal buildings as is the case of 
services  directly related  to  the  passengers  or  in  the  restricted  areas  of  the 
airport  as  in  the  case  of  services  requiring  direct  access  to  the  aircraft. 
Sometimes these services require the use of sophisticated and costly centralized 

systems which cannot be duplicated, as in the case of baggage sorting.  The 
level of constraint may vary according to the airport and in some instances 
even from  one terminal to another; 

security  and  safety:  airports  require  high  security  and  safety  standards. 
Maintaining  such  standards is  one  of  the  fundamental  tasks  of  the  airport 
managing body. It is therefore essential for the airport management to retain, 
de jure and de facto, the power to regulate, coordinate and control access to 
all  restricted  areas  as  well  as  staff  and vehicle  movements  in these  areas. 
Similarly it must be possible to check the contents of baggage.N 

The categories of services directly related to the aircraft which are carried out in the 
restricted  areas of the airport or  so-called  "air-side" services are most likely to be 
affected by capacity constraints since these areas cannot be extended indefinitely, by 
security  constraints  in  view  of  the  sensitive  nature  of  the  activities related  to the 
aircraft  as well as by safety constraints. Studies have shown that a large number of 
accidents  are  caused  by  groundhandlers  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  aircraft 
mainly for reasons of congestion and traffic. 

Although these constraints can, in some cases, be overcome by adapting or expanding 
the existing infrastructure,  such infrastructure  developments can require considerable 
investments. 

17. 

It is obvious that not all groundhandling services are suitable to the same degree of 
market access, particularly in the short term and even in the longer term.  For each 
type of service it will be necessary to determine the access in a way which remains 
compatible with the efficient  operation of the airport infrastructure.  It will therefore 
be essential to adopt a differentiated  approach which takes account of the technical 
features of the various types of services, of the varying degrees of the constraints and 
of the specific problems at certain airports. In this respect it is possible to distinguish 
"land-side" services, such as passenger or administrative services as well as services 
which affect the image of the airline or the operation of the aircraft such as catering 
or maintenance services, for  which airlines should have the widest possible access 
from  "air-side" services which are subject to greater constraints. 

OL  The objectives and the means 

18.  On the basis of the guidelines set out in the consultation paper and the réactions of 
the  stakeholders,  the  Commission  feels  that  access  to  the  groundhandling  market 
should be such as to allow users to choose the supplier who comes closest to their 
quality and cost requirements.  However, access should also be adapted to the features 
of  the  various  typés  of  services, taking  account  of  existing  constraints,  of  social 
repercussions as well as the need to keep the  airports operating  efficiently. 

The  Commission  therefore  favours  the  introduction  of  liberalization  as  well  as 
accompanying measures. 

a. 

The liberalization measures 

19. 

20. 

21. 

The  objective  of  the  liberalization  measures  is  to  ensure  access  to  the  market. 
However, the heterogeneous nature of groundhandling services and the diverse nature 
of airport situations call for a differentiated  approach as well as for the introduction 
of mechanisms which make it possible to take account of specific  situations.  The 
genuine liberalization of this sector should therefore take the form of free access for 
some services and a more limited access for others.  It should also guarantee the  right 
to self-handle.  It should, however, not exclude the possibility to grant exemptions in 
certain  cases  in  order  to  take  account  of  the  considerable  capacity  and  space 
constraints at certain airports. 

Access to the market 

Third party handling 

Free access to the market implies in theory an unlimited number of suppliers, although 
in practice their number will be limited by the size of the market itself.  In principle, 
free access should apply to all groundhandling  services.  In practice, however, free 
access will be applicable to those services which are not genuinely subject to safety, 
security, space and capacity constraints or for which these constraints can be overcome 
by the appropriate measures.  These include passenger handling, ground administration 
and  supervision,  flight  operations  and  crew  administration,  maintenance,  catering 
services, cleaning as well as surface transport. 

Limited  access  means that  the  airport  authority  is  able  to  restrict  the  number  of 
suppliers. However, effective  competition requires a minimum of  two suppliers, at 
least one of which must be independent of the airport and of any user carrying no less 
than 25% of the passengers or freight recorded at the airport concerned.  This is the 
case of all national carriers at their airport of origin. 

Limited  access  should  apply  to  those  categories  of  services  which  do  not  lend 
themselves  to free access, either  because they  are  subject  to  the  above-mentioned 
constraints or because they require systems which are complex, centralized or cannot 
be duplicated.  This is the case of baggage handling, freight and mail handling, ramp 
services and fuelling. 

Self-handling 

22. 

Self-handling  is a particular  form  of groundhandling whereby airport users perform 
one or more types of services  for  themselves.  Its key feature is that it excludes a 
service contract with a third party. 

Self-handling  should for the same reasons as for third party handling be authorized 
without  restrictions  in  the  case  of  ground  administration  and  supervision, flight 
operations and crew administration, catering, passenger  handling, cleaning,  aircraft 
maintenance and surface transport. 

23. 

For the other types of groundhandling services, i.e. baggage handling, freight and mail 
handling, ramp services and fuelling,  Member States should be able to reserve self-
handling to a limited number of carriers chosen on the basis of relevant, objective, 
transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. 

24.  When carriers supply groimdhandling services to third parties they are not considered 
to  be  self-handling  and  should  therefore  be  treated  as  any  other  supplier  of 
groundhandling  services  and  should  thus  be  subject  to  the  same  restrictions  and 
selection procedures. 

Exemptions 

25. 

In some instances the physical cciistraints may be such that they make access for new 
entrants difficult, if not impossible. It is therefore necessary to allow for the possibihty 
of  granting  exemptions.  Member  States  will  be  responsible  for  granting  these 
exemptions subject  to approval  by the  Commission in order to ensure consistency 
throughout the Community. The Commission may avail itself of the assistance of one 
or more independent experts in reaching its decision. 

These exemptions would be granted solely for the service or services and for those 
parts of the airport of  airport system, for  which the alleged constraints are actually 
ascertained.  It would be up to  the  airport  requesting  the  exemption to  prove the 
existence ofsuch exceptional constraints.  Exemptions would be granted for a limited 
period on presentation of a development plan designed to overcome these constraints. 
Any extension of the exemption would be subject to a review procedure. 

26. 

Thus, an airport would be authorized to close or restrict access to the market for one 
or several categories of services. 

An airport would also be authorized to reserve self-handling to a limited number of 
users,  chosen  on  an objective  and non-discrirninatory  basis, for  those  services for 
which self-handling  should not be limited in principle. Member States would when 
justified and with the approval of the Commission be able to authorize an airport to 
limit market access for a particular service in relation to the access originally intended 
for  that  particular  service.  This  flexible  approach  should  provide  a  means  of 
overcoming specific problems without unduly restricting access to the market. 

b. 

The accompanying measures 

27. 

To ensure fair  and sustainable competition and at the same time allow for  efficient 
management of airport installations, it is necessary to supplement access to the market 
with accompanying measures. 

These accompanying rneasures cover the unbundling of the different  activities of the 
managing  body  of  the  airport,  consultations  between  the  airport»  users  and 
groundhandlers, the approval and selection of suppliers, the rules of conduct required 
to ensure  the  efficient  operation of  the  airport, access to  the installations  and the 
recognition of a right of appeal. 

Unbundling of activities 

28.  A large number of airports provide groundhandling services themselves.  In order to 
ensure  that  suppliers  are  treated  on  an  equal  basis,  the  decisions  of  the  airport 
authority  must be genuinely  and  completely  transparent,  particularly if  the  airport 
authority  supplies groundhandling  services  and at the same  time is responsible  for 
approval and coordination of groundhandlers. To guarantee transparent and impartial 
decision-making by the airport authority, the Commission, drawing inter alia on the 
legislation  estabhshed  in  the  railway  sector,  advocates  strict  unbundling  of 
groundhandling  services from other airport activities by requiring separate accounts 
and management for  these activities.  Fair competition also imphes the absence of 
cross-subsidization  of groundhandling  services by other  airport  activities.  A body 
independent of the parties concerned and in particular of the airport should check that 
the unbundling is effectively  carried out. 

Airports would thus, if they so wished, be able to continue to supply groundhandling 
services and compete with other suppliers, provided their groundhandhng activity is 
kept separate from  their regulatory and infrastructure  management  functions. 

29.  On similar grounds the same obligations can justifiably be imposed on users who have 
a  considerable  volume  of  traffic,  if  they  do  not  wish  to  restrict  themselves  to 
self-handling  and  wish  to  offer  groundhandhng  services  to  third  parties.  The 
obligation to unbundle groundhandling services should provide a clearer insight into 
the terms on which these services are offered  and reduce the risk of unfair practices, 
such as dumping and cross-subsidization. 

Approval of suppliers 

30.  Member States should be able, if they believe it is necessary, to subject the supply of 
groundhandling services to approval. The primary objective is to ensure the  efficient 
operation  of the  airport  as well  as the protection  of the  environment  by making it 
possible to reject  a priori groundhandling  candidates for  which there are valid and 
sufficient  grounds, such as past performance,  to presume that their behaviour could 
significantly affect  the security and safety of the airport installations as well as of the 
staff or the environment. The supplier should upon request be given the reasons for 
refusal  so that he can appeal if appropriate. 

31. 

This approval procedure  for  suppliers should not be extended to users who wish to 
self-handle.  Wherever the self-handling is freely  allowed and in any other instances 
where the managing body of the airport  authorizes self-handling,  users are directly 
entitled to provide such services for themselves.  There is therefore  no need for an 
additional approval procedure. 

* 

Selection of suppliers 

32. 

The number of authorized suppliers may be limited either in the case of a service for 
which access is limited or by way of exemption  In both cases it is essential in order 
to avoid discrimination to provide for  a neutral, objective  and transparent  selection 
procedure at Community level. 

33. 

Although the selection of the supphers authorized to provide groundhandling services 
entails similar problems to those of public procurement, certain features nevertheless 
justify  a specific  selection procedure.  Thus,  in the  case  of public  procurement the 
awarding authority selects an applicant with whichit will conclude a contract, whereas 
in the case of groundhandling services the selected supphers will conclude contracts 
with the users of the air services and not with the airport.  As the future customers of 
the  selected suppliers the carriers should therefore  be able to participate in drawing 
up the technical  or any other specifications  required for the selection procedure.  A 
Committee representing all the users of the airport or airport system in question would 
allow  for such participatioa  This Committee would be consulted by the managing 
body of the airport prior to the selection of the supphers. 

34.  However, since some airports also supply groundhandling services, either directly or 
through a subsidiary, it is essential to maintain fair competition and ensure objective, 
transparent  and  non-dscrirninatory  control  by  the  managing  body.  This  can  be 
achieved by delegating the power to select the supphers to, the Users' Committee. 

35. 

The  selection procedure  should apply to  all  potential  supphers.  It is  essential that 
there should be no discrirnination to the detriment of independent supphers and to the 
benefit  of supphers who are carriers themselves or are controlled by carriers.  Many 
carriers  with  a large  volume  of  traffic  at  a  particular  airport  often  resort  to  self-
handling.  Since  they  have  the  required  staff  and  equipment,  they  can  offer  their 
services to other carriers at favourable rates.  This advantage must not be exacerbated 
by the selection procedure, which should not result in replacing existing monopolies 
by  market  structures  doininated  by  large  air  carriers.  Such  a  situation  could 
effectively  deprive smaller carriers, for  which self-handling  is not usually economic 
because of their low volume of traffic,  of a genuine choice. 

x  -

36.  However,  an  exception  to  this  rule  should  be  made  for  the  airport  or  its 
groundhandling subsidiary. Although the specific obligations incumbent upon operators 
controlling  essential  infrastructure  are sufficient  reason to compel  airports to accept 
the  presence  of  competitors  on their  own premises, it  is  not conceivable  that they 
should  be  barred from providing  groundhandling  services  themselves,  directly  or 
indirectly, if they so wish  However, if airports were subjected to the same selection 
procedure as other potential supphers, they would run the risk of not being selected. 
Consequently,  airports  should  be  able  to  either  provide  groundhandling  services 
themselves or authorize a supplier to provide them without undergoing the selection 
procedure, provided the airport directly or indirectly controls the supplier in question. 
This would also be valid if the supplier controls the airport authority. 

37. 

This reasoning, however, does not apply to the dominant carrier which in general is 
neither the managing body nor the owner of the airport infrastructures.  Consequently, 
the dominant carrier should enjoy no special status, but should be subject to the same 
selection procedure as other potential supphers. 

10 

Consultation  procedure  between the airport,  the  users and the supplier(s) 

38. 

Should practical constraints make access to the market, even if restricted, impossible, 
the  airport could,  subject  to approval  by the Commission,  obtain an exemption from 
the  Member  State  whereby  it  is  authorized  not  to  open  up  one  or  more  types  of 
groundhandling services to competition.  It is essential that the services for which such 
an  exemption  is  granted  are  supplied  under  genuinely  transparent  conditions, 
particularly in respect of pricing.  A statutory consultation and conciliation procedure 
between the  airport,  supplier  and users would  offer  users in  such a  case  guarantees 
similar  to  those  they  could  expect  from  normal  free  competition.  Users  should  be 
consulted through the Users' Committee, particularly in the event of any major change 
of situation and in any event at least  once a year. 

Rules of  conduct 

39. 

The primary  task  entrusted  by  Member  States to the managing  bodies  of  airports  is 
to ensure proper operation of the airport infrastructure.  It should therefore be possible 
to  apply the  rules  necessary  to  attain  this  objective  to  suppliers  of  groundhandling 
services and self-handling  carriers. 

These  rules  could  include  the  obligation  to  bear  a  fair  share  of  any  public  service 
obligation  imposed  on  the  managing  body,  particularly  the  obligation  to  provide 
permanent services.  This would make it possible to  ensure fair  competition between 
suppliers  by preventing  some  suppliers from leaving  the less profitable  segments of 
the market such as night, rerouted or delayed flights to others, in particular the airport 
or  its  subsidiary.  This specific  obligation  should be imposed  on  supphers  only and 
not on users, unless they offer  groundhandling  services to third parties. 

40. 

However,  these  regulatory  powers  should  not  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
Member  States.  The rules which they impose should in turn comply with a series of 
principles.  They should in particular. 

apply without  discrimination to all suppliers  and users; 

contribute  to achieving the proposed  objective; 

impose no constraints  on suppliers  and users which  are  out  of proportion  to 
their real  benefits; 

comply  with  the  spirit  of  the  proposed  measures,  that  is  not  reduce  market 
access  or  the  right  to  self-handle  to  a  lesser  degree  than  intended  by  the 
measures. 

In  the  event  of  non-compliance  with  such  rules  of  conduct,  Member  States  could 
withdraw  approval from the supplier  or prohibit the  carrier  from  self-handling. 

11 

Right of access to the installations 

41.  Groundhandhng services are by definition at least in part provided on the airport.  In 
a number of cases, such as catering or fuelling, the supplier can operate installations 
off  the  airport  premises,  but  still  require  access  to  the  airport.  Consequently, 
groundhandling supphers and self-handling users should be entitled to have access to 
the  airport  installations  insofar  as  is  necessary  to  exercise  their  right  to  supply 
groundhandling services or to self-handle. 

A corollary to this right of access for users and supphers is the right of the managing 
body to regulate  such  access. However,  access to the installations  should  only be 
refused where it has been decided to withdraw approval or to prohibit self-handling. 
The conditions which the managing body should attach to this right of access are an 
example of the above-mentioned rules of conduct and should comply with the same 
principles of relevance, objectivity, transparency and non-discrimination. 

The  right  of  access  of  suppliers  and  self-handlers  to  the  installations  must  be 
distinguished from the access authorization given to each individual member of their 
staffj  which  may  inter alia  be  subject  to  a  security  check  or  a  training  course  if 
required by the national legislation 

In many instances access to the installations and self-handling will entail extra costs 
for the airport, caused for example by the need to check identities or to organize and 
monitor  vehicle  movements,  even  if  such  access  does  not  involve  permanent 
occupation of part of the airport installations. It should be possible for the managing 
body to charge supphers and self-handling users a fee to cover these costs.  Such fees 
should in turn be based on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. 

42. 

43. 

Right of appeal 

44.  Many decisions of the managing body or the public authorities of the Member States, 
such as the granting or refusal of approval, the rules of conduct, the penalties for non 
compliance  with  the  rules,  the  space  allocation,  etc.,  will  have  far-reaching 
consequences  for  the  interests  of  the  suppliers  and  users.  In  accordance  with  the 
general  legal  principles  recognized  by  all  Member States,  anyone  who  feels  his 
interests have been affected by such a decision must have an effective right of appeal 
before a public authority independent of the managing body of the airport and of any 
public authority compiling it.  In most Member States such appeal procedures already 
exist. 

c. 

Scope of the measures 

45. 

Effective  competition requires  a market large  enough for  several  and at least two 
supphers to operate on it profitably. The heavy fixed cost of investments in buildings 
and equipment for  many categories of groundhandhng  services make it difficult  to 
maintain lasting competition on such a limited market. Consequently, the measures for 
third party handling should only apply to airports with an annual traffic volume of no 
less than two milhon passenger movements or 50 000 tonnes of freight or to so-called 
"seasonal"  airports  which  on  a  seasonal  basis  present  the  same  characteristics. 
Problems related to the price and quality of  groundhandling services arise at many 

12 

' .  -"  '  • 

of these airports.  On the  other hand, the measures concerning  self-handling  should 
apply to all airports which are open to commercial traffic  and located on the territory 
of a Member State. 

46. 

47. 

The implementation  of these measures will in many cases give rise to considerable 
reorganization problems. It could also have a considerable social impact.  Hence, it 
is necessary to allow for a reasonable transition period which should enable airports 
to adapt to the new situation and users to benefit from it as soon as possible. 

The  organization  of access to  the groundhandling  market  and the liberalization of 
self-handling will bring considerable advantages for both supphers and users.  If these 
advantages are extended to users and suppliers from third countries, they should be 
matched by comparable treatment, de jure and de facto, for Community suppliers and 
users in the countries concerned.  If no such reciprocity exists, whether  because of 
legal or regulatory measures or simple discriminatory practices, the Commission feels 
that it is necessary to be able to suspend all or some of the rights which the Directive 
recognizes for users and supphers from any country which fails to recognize similar 
rights  for  Community supphers and users. This suspension may be apphcable to all 
or some Member States. 

IV.  Conclusions 

48. 

The liberalization of the air transport sector imphes free access to the groundhandling 
market.  Such access will make it possible to meet the current needs of air transport. 
However, the present situation at many airports, the diversity of the services and the 
constraints  to which the  supply  of  some  services  are  subject  make it necessary to 
introduce accompanying  measures. 

The Commission therefore considers that market access must be based on a balanced 
approach  which  takes  account  of  the  different  situations,  the  requirements  of  air 
transport and the interests of airports, carriers, supphers and workers throughout the 
industry. 

13 

C O N T E N TS  OF  T HE  D I R E C T I VE 

Article 1 

This Article gives the definitions needed for the application of the Directive. 

Article! 

This Article defines the scope of the measures: for  self-handling  the measures apply to all 
Community airports open to commercial traffic; for third-party handling their application is 
restricted  to  airports  with  an  annual  traffic  volume  of  no  less than  2 milhon  passenger 
movements or 50 000 tonnes of freight or to airports with a traffic volume of no less than one 
milhon passenger movements or 25 000 tonnes of freight during a period of six consecutive 
months. 

Article 3 

This Article  specifies  the manner in which the measures apply to the managing bodies of 
airports, irrespective of their practical or legal organization in the different  Member States. 
If  the  different  management  functions  of  an  airport  are  shared between  several  separate 
bodies, they are all considered as part of the managing body of the airport concerned. If on 
the other hand one and the same body is in charge of the management of several airports, 
each of these airports is considered individually. Finally, if the managing body of an airport 
is controlled by a public authority, the obligations imposed by the Directive on the managing 
body also apply to the authority. 

Article 4 

-

This Article lays down the principle of unbundling the activities of the managing bodies of 
airports: if the managing body of an airport wishes to supply groundhandling services, it must 
separate this activity from its role of infrastructure management arid regulation by unbundling 
the management and the accounting  of these activities. The purpose of this measure is to 
ensure fair  competition between groundhandlers by preventing the airport from subsidizing 
its groundhandling  activities through activities which by their very nature are not open to 
competition. For similar reasons the same accounting and management unbundling is imposed 
on any carrier with a dominant position at the airport. 

Articles 

This Article provides that at every airport a Users' Committee must be set up which represents 
the users and consists of their representatives. Any user has the right to be a member of this 
Committee or to be represented on it. 

14 

Article  6 

This Article lays down the conditions of market access for third party handling. It identifies 
the  services  for  which  access  to  the  market  will  be  entirely free and those  for  which  the 
Member State for technical reasons will be allowed to limit access. In such cases, the number 
of groundhandlers will  not be less than two, one of which will  be independent  both of the 
airport and of any carrier enjoying a dominant position at the airport. 

Article  7 

This Article  lays down the conditions  for self-handling.  It identifies  the services for which 
the right to  self-handle  is  guaranteed without  restrictions  and those  for  which, because  of 
technical  constraints, the Member State may reserve this right to a limited number of users, 
who are to be chosen on the basis of relevant, objective, transparent and nc^-discrhriinatory 
criteria. The services for which self-handling is to be allowed fully are the same as those for 
which access to third party handling is free. Similarly, those for which self-handling  may be 
limited  are the  same  as those  for  which  access  may be  limited  in the  case  of  third party 
handling. 

Article  8 

This Article allows Member States to reserve to a single body the management of centralized 
infrastructures which cannot be divided or which because of their cost cannot be duplicated 
However,  access  to  these  infrastructures  must  be  granted to  supphers  of  groundhandling 
services and their centralized management may not limit market access to a lesser degree than 
provided for by the Directive. 

Article  9 

This  Article  gives  Member  States  the right to  grant  exemptions  to  those  airports  whose 
specific situation does not allow access to the market or self-handling to the degree provided 
for by the Directive. In order to guarantee the consistency and uniformity of these exemptions 
throughout the Community, the Commission will have the power to suspend the exemptions 
granted by the national authorities. 

Article  10 

This  Article  provides  for  the  organization  of  a procedure  for  the  selection  of  authorized 
supphers, when their number is limited by a Member State and provides that users are to be 
consulted prior to the  choice  of the managing body.  Also,  when the managing  body itself 
provides  groundhandling  services  directly  or  through  a  third  party,  equal  treatment  of 
supphers requires that it should not be in a position to choose its own competitors.  In such 
a  case,  the  selection  of  authorized  suppliers  will  be  made  by  the  Users'  Committee.  This 
Article also gives to the airport itselÇ the undertakings controlled by it or the undertaking that 
controls it the right to supply groundhandling services without having to undergo the selection 
procedure. 

15 

Article 11 

This Article provides for the organization of consultation and arbitration procedures between 
the users, the supphers and the managing body when one or several services are not open to 
competition by virtue of an exemption 

Article 12 

This Article allows Member States to subject  the activity of groundhandlers to obtaining a 
licence delivered by a public authority independent of the airport, in order to guarantee safety, 
security and environmental protection standards. 

Article 13 

This Article gives Member States the right to impose on supphers of groundhandling services 
and users wishing to self-handle the rules required for the proper functioning of the airport. 
These rules may include the obligation to comply with public service obligations. This Article 
also lays down the basic principles with which these rules should comply. They should be 
non-discdrninatory, related to the objective and comply with the degree of access provided 
for by the Directive. 

Article 14 

This Article gives suppliers and users the right to have access to the airport  infrastructures 
to the extent required for the supply of groundhandling services or to self-handle. It also lays 
down  the  conditions  to  which  this  right  may  be  subjected  by  Member  States  and  the 
principles  with  which  these  conditions  must  comply:  they  must  be  relevant,  objective, 
transparent and non-discriminatory. 

Article 15 

This Article recognizes the rights and obligations of the Member States as far as safety and 
security at airports are concerned 

Article 16 

litis Article states the principle of reciprocity between the Community and third countries and 
provides that in the absence of reciprocity the obligations created by the Directive may be 
supended with respect to undertakings from the third country in question. 

Article 17 

This Article makes it obhgatory for the Member States, where such a procedure does not yet 
exist, to provide  an  appeal procedure  before  an  independent  public  authority against the 
decisions of their public authorities in the area covered by the Directive. 

Article 18 

This  Article  provides  that  the  Commission  shall  estabhsh  an  information  report  on  the 
implementation of the Directive. 

'  '  • •  16 

Article  19 

This  Article  lays  down  the  principle  of  cooperation  between  the  Commission  and  the 
Member  States for  the  implementation  of the  Directive. 

Article  20 

This Article provides that all measures taken by the Member  States within the  scope of this 
Directive must be notified to the Commission in order to allow it to check that the measures 
comply with Community law. 

17 

Proposal for a 
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

on access to the groundhandling market at Community airports 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  estabhshing  the  European  Community,  and  in  particular 
Article 84(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 

In cooperation with the European Parliament, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic  and Social Committee, 

Whereas the Community has gradually introduced a common air transport policy with the aim 
of completing the internal market in accordance with Article  7a of the Treaty; 

Whereas the internal  market comprises an area free of internal frontiers in which the free 
movement of goods, persons, services and capital is assured; 

Whereas  the  objective  of  Article  59  of  the  Treaty  is  to  eliminate  the  restrictions  on the 
freedom  to provide services in the Community and that, in accordance with Article  61(,)  of 
the Treaty, this objective must be achieved within the framework of the common transport 
policy, 

Whereas through Council  Regulations (EEC) Nos 2407/92(1),  2408/92(2)  and 2409/92(3) that 
objective has been attained with regard to air transport services as such; 

Whereas groundhandling services form an integral part of the air transport system; whereas 
such services  are essential  to the proper functioning  of this mode  of transport and whereas 
they make an essential  contribution to the efficient  use of air transport infrastructure; 

Whereas groundhandhng  services are essential to the supply of air transport services, which 
by their  nature extend beyond national frontiers and fell directly within the  framework  of 
intra-Community trade; 

. 

Whereas  with  respect  to  the  principle  of  subsidiarity  it  is  essential  that  access  to  the 
groundhandling  market  should  take  place  within  a  common framework, while  allowing 
Member States the possibility of taking into consideration the specific nature of the sector; 

(1) 
(2) 
(3) 

OJ No L 240, 24.8.1992, p. 1. 
OJ No  L 240, 24.8.1992, p. 8. 
OJ No L 240, 24.8.1992, p.  15. 

18 

Whereas  in  its  Communication  of  1 June  1994  "The  Way  Forward  for  Civil  Aviation  in 
Europe" the Commission indicated its intention to take an initiative  before the end of  1994 
in  order  to achieve  market  access  for  groundhandling  services  at Community  airports and 
whereas the  Council  in  its  Resolution  of  24 October  1994 has confirmed  the need to take 
account  of the imperatives linked to the situation of airports when effecting  the opening  of 
the market; 

Whereas  access  to  the  groundhandling  market  would  not  affect  the  efficient  operation  of 
Community airports; 

Whereas  it  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  estabhsh  the  arrangements  for  access  to  the 
groundhandling market at Community airports and whereas it is essential to take account of 
the existing situation at airports; 

Whereas, for certain categories of services, however,  access to the market and self-handling 
may come up against safety, security, available capacity and space constraints; whereas it is, 
therefore, necessary to be able to limit the number of supphers of such categories of services; 
whereas it  should  also  be possible  to limit  self-handling  and whereas  the  criteria  for  such 
limitation must be relevant, objective, transparent and non-dscriminatory; 

Whereas, if the number of supphers is limited, the maintenance of effective  competition will 
require that at least one of the supphers should be independent of both the managing body 
of the airport and the dominant carrier; 

Whereas the proper functioning of airports requires them to be able to reserve for themselves 
the management of certain infrastructures, which for technical reasons as well  as for reasons 
of  profitability  and  safety  are  difficult  to  divide  or  duplicate;  whereas  the  centralized 
management of such infrastructures may not, however, constitute an obstacle to their use by 
groundhandlers or by self-handling users; 

Whereas in certain cases, these constraints can be such that they may justify restrictions on 
market access or self-handling to the extent that these restrictions are adapted, transparent and 
non-discriminatory; 

Whereas the purpose of such exemptions must be to enable  airports to overcome or at least 
to reduce these constraints; whereas these exemptions must be approved by the Commission 
and must be granted for a specific period; 

Whereas if fair and effective  competition is to be maintained where the number of suppliers 
of  services is limited,  the latter need to be chosen according to a transparent and impartial 
procedure; whereas users should be involved in the selection since they have a major interest 
in the quality and price of the services which they require; 

Whereas it is therefore important to organize the representation of users and their participation 
in  the  selection  of  authorized  supphers  by  setting  up  a  committee  composed  of  their 
representatives; 

19 

Whereas the managing  body  of  the  airport may  also  supply groundhandling  services and, 
through its decisions, may exercise considerable influence  on competition between supphers 
of  groundhandling  services;  whereas  it  is  therefore  essential,  in  order  to  maintain  fair 
competition, that airports estabhsh a clear separation between their infrastructure management 
and regulatory activities on the one hand and the supply of groundhandling services on the 
other; 

Whereas  the  same  transparency  requirements  must  apply  to  users  who  have  attained  a 
significant volume of traffic at an airport and wish to provide groundhandling services to third 
parties; 

Whereas in order to  enable airports to fulfil  their management  functions  and to guarantee 
safety  and  security  on  the  airport  premises  as  well  as  to  protect  the  environment, 
Member States  must  be  able  to  make  the  supply  of  groundhandling  services  subject  to 
approval; whereas the criteria for granting such approval must be objective, transparent and 
non-<isaimrnatory; 

Whereas, for the same reasons, Member States must retain the power to lay down and apply 
the necessary rules for the proper functioning of the airport infrastructure; whereas these rules 
must, however, comply with the principles of objectivity, transparence and non-discrimination; 

Whereas  access to  airport installations  must be guaranteed to supphers wishing to provide 
groundhandling  services  and to  carriers wishing  to  self-handle  to thé  extent  necessary  for 
them to exercise their  rights; 

Whereas it is justified that the rights recognized by this Directive should only apply to third 
country suppliers and carriers  subject to strict reciprocity; whereas where there is no such 
reciprocity  the  Commission  should  be  able  to  suspend  these rights with  regard to  those 
supphers and carriers; 

Whereas this Directive does not affect the application of the rules of the Treaty and whereas 
in  particular  the  Commission  will  continue  to  ensure  compliance  with  these  rules  by 
exercising, when necessary, the powers granted to it by Article 90 of the Treaty, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 

ArJickl 

Definitions 

For the purposes of this Directive: 

1. 

2. 

"airport user" means  any  physical  or  legal  person  responsible  for  the  carriage  of 
passengers, mail and/or freight by air from or to the airport in question; 

"groundhandling" means the services provided to users at airports as described in the 
Annex; 

20 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

"self-handling" means a groundhandling arrangement, whereby a user directly provides 
for  himself  one  or  more  categories  of  groundhandling  services  and  concludes no 
contract of any description with a third party for the provision of such services; 

"supplier  of groundhandling  services" means any natural  or legal person supplying 
third parties with one or more categories of groundhandling services; 

"airport system" means any set of airports grouped together to serve the same city or 
conurbation, as defined in Annex 2 to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92; 

"managing body of the airport" means body which by national law or regulation has 
as its  objective  the management of the airport infrastructures,  the  coordination and 
control  of the  activities  of  the  different  operators  present  in the  airport  or  airport 
system concerned. 

Article.! 

Scope 

1. 

This Directive applies to any airport located on the territory of a Member State open 
to commercial  traffic. 

However, the provisions of Articles 4, 5, 6, 10, 11  and 12 shall apply only to airports 

whose  annual  traffic  is  not  less  than  2 milhon  passenger  movements  or 
50 000 tonnes of freight or 

whose  traffic  over  the  preceding  18 months  is  not  less  than  one  milhon 
passenger  movements  or  25 000  tonnes of freight during  any period  of six 
consecutive months. 

2. 

The Commission shall publish, for information, in the Official Journal of the European 
Communities  a  hst  of  the  airports  referred  to  in  the  second  subparagraph  of 
paragraph  1. The hst shall first be published within three months following the entry 
into force of this Directive, and then annually. 

Member States shall, before  1 July of each year, forward to the Commission the data 
required to compile the hst. 

Article 3 

Managing body of the airport 

1.  Where an airport or airport system is managed and operated not by a single body but 
by several  separate bodies, each of these  shall be  considered part of the managing 
body of the airport for the purposes of this Directive. 

2.  Where a single managing body is set up for several airports or airport systems, each 

of these shall be considered separately for the purposes of this Directive. 

21 

3. 

If  the  legislation  of  a  Member  State  places  the  managing  bodies  of  one  or more 
airports or airport systems under the supervision or control of a public authority, the 
obligations imposed by this Directive on those managing bodies shall also be imposed 
on the public authorities which control them. 

Atticie_4 

Unbundling 

1.  Where  the  managing body  of  an  airport provides groundhandling  services  it must 
unbundle the management and accounts of its groundhandling activities from its other 
activities. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

A  user  who  in  the  previous  year  has  carried  in  excess  of  25% of  the freight or 
passengers recorded at an airport may not itself provide  groundhandling services to 
third parties at that airport without unbundling the management and accounts of the 
transport activity from the supply of groundhandling services to third parties. 

An independent examiner must check that the unbundling is carried out as required 
under paragraphs  1 and 2. 

The examiner shall, in particular, check the absence of any financial flow from other 
activities to those of groundhandling. 

He shall at all times have access to the accounts of the undertaking.  He shall report 
to  the  Commission  at  least  once  a  year  and  each time he  ascertains  a  failure  to 
maintain the mandatory unbundling. 

Article 5 

The Users'Committee 

Twelve  months  at  the  latest  following  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Directive, 
Member States shall introduce the measures necessary to set up a committee of users' 
representatives  for  each  of  the  airports  referred  to  in  the  second  subparagraph  of 
Article 2(1). 

All  users  shall  have  the right to  be  on  the  committee  or,  if  they  so  wish,  to be 
represented on it by an organization appointed to that effect.  The decision-making 
procedure of the cc*nmittee may take account of the volume of activity of the Various 
users of the airport in question, while still ensuring that each of them is represented 

Article 6 

Groundhandling for third parties 

1. 

Member  States  shall,  no  later  than  two  years  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this 
Directive, take the necessary measures in order to ensure free access to the market for 
the provision of groundhandling services to third parties. 

22 

2. 

Member States may hmit the number of suppliers authorized to provide the following 
categories of groundhandhng services: 

baggage handling, 

ramp handling, 

fuelling, 

freight  and mail handling. 

They  may not,  however,  hmit  this  number  to  less  than  two  for  each  category  of 
service.  Moreover,  at least one  of the  supphers may not,  directly  or indirectly, be 
controlled by 

the managing body of the airport, 

any user who has carried more than 25% of the passengers or freight recorded 
at the airport during the year preceding that in which the suppliers are selected, 

a body controlling or controlled directly or indirectly by that managing body 
or any such user. 

3.  Wihout prejudice to paragraph 2, Member States shall ensure that any airport user can 
call upon the groundhandling services of the suppher of his choice, whatever parts of 
the airport are allocated to them. 

Article 7 

Self-handling 

1. 

Member  States  shall, no later than two years  following  the  entry into  force  of this 
Directive, take the necessary measures to ensure the freedom to self-handle. 

2. 

For the following  categories of groundhandling services: 

baggage handling, 

ramp handling, 

fuelling, 

freight  and manhandling. 

Member  States may reserve  the right to  self-handle  to  a limited number  of  users, 
provided they  are  chosen  on the  basis  of  relevant,  objective,  transparent and non 
discriminatory criteria. 

23 

Article 8 

Centralized infrastructures 

1.  Without prejudice to the application of Articles 6 and 7, Member States may reserve 
the  technical  management  of  the  centralized  baggage  sorting,  de-icing,  water 
purification  and fuel distribution infrastructures either for the managing body of the 
airport  or  for  another  body..  They  may  make  it  obhgatory  for  supphers  of 
groundhandling services and self-handling users to use these infrastructures. 

2. 

Member States shall ensure that the management of the infrastructures referred to in 
paragraph 1 is transparent, objective and non-discriminatory and, in particular, that it 
does not hinder its use by supphers of groundhandling services or self-handling users 
within the limits laid down by this Directive. 

Article^ 

Exemptions 

1.  Where specific constraints of available space or capacity so warrant, the Member State 

in question may decide: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

to limit the number of  supphers of all categories of groundhandling services 
other than thoseTeferred to in Article 6(2); in this case the provisions of the 
second subparagraph of Article 6(2) shall apply, 

to  reserve  to  a  single  suppher  the  categories  of  groundhandling  services 
referred to in Article 6(2); 

to reserve  self-handling  to  a limited  number  of  users  for  the  categories  of 
groundhandling services other than those referred to in Article 7(2), provided 
they  are  chosen  on  the  basis  of  relevant,  objective,  transparent  and non 
discriminatory criteria. 

2. 

All exemptions decided pursuant to paragraph 1  must: 

(a) 

specify  the  category  or  categories  of  services  for  which  the  exemption  is 
granted and the technical constraints which justify it; 

(b) 

be accompanied by an airport development plan to overcome the constraints. 

3. 

Member States shall notify the Commission, at least three months before they enter 
into  force,  of  any  exemptions  they  grant  on  the  basis  of  paragraph 1  and  of  the 
grounds which justify them. 

The Commission shall pubhsh a summary of the decisions of which it is notified in 
the Official  Journal of the European Communities and shall invite interested parties 
to submit comments. 

24 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Exemptions may enter into force at the end of the three-month period following their 
notification to the Commission unless during the same period the latter informs the 
Member State concerned either that it is opposed to the decision or that it intends to 
carry  out  a  further  examination,  which, however,  may not  take  longer  than three 
months. Within the  context  of the  examination the  Commission may authorize the 
provisional application, in full or in part, of the decision in question, taking account, 
inter alia, of the possibility of irreversible  effects. 

The Commission may seek assistance from one or more experts. 

The Commission may also restrict the exemptions provided for in this Article to those 
parts of an airport or airport system where the constraints referred to have been proven 
to exist. 

Exemptions granted by  Member  States pursuant to paragraph  1 may not  exceed a 
duration of three years. At the end of that period the Member State must take a new 
decision on the request for an exemption and this, too, will be subject to the procedure 
laid down in this Article. 

Article 10 

Selection of suppliers 

1.  Member States shall take the necessary measures to organize a selection procedure for 
suppliers  authorized  to  provide  groundhandling  services  at  an  airport  where  their 
number is limited in the cases laid down in Article 6(2) or Article 9. This procedure 
must comply with the following principles: 

(a) 

in cases where Member States require the estabhshment of standard conditions 
or  technical  specifications  to  be  met  by the  suppliers,  these  conditions  or 
specifications shall be estabhshed by the managing body of the airport and the 
Users' Committee. The selection criteria laid down in the standard conditions 
or technical  specifications  must be relevant, objective,  transparent  and non 
discriminatory; 

(b) 

an invitation to tender must be launched and published in the Official  Journal 
of the  European Communities, to which  any interested suppher  may reply, 
subject to the provisions of Article 16; 

(c) 

the supphers shall be chosen 

(i) 

following consultation of the Users' Committee by the managing body 
of the airport, provided the latter 

does not provide groundhandling services, 

has no control, direct or indirect, over any undertaking which 
provides such services, and 

has no involvement in any such undertaking; 

25 

(ii) 

by the Users' Committee, in all other cases. Each user may then vote 
for only one suppher for each category of service; 

(d) 

supphers shall be selected for a maximum period of seven years; 

(e) 

where a suppher ceases his activity before Hie end of the period for which he 
was  selected,  he  shall  be  replaced  on  the  basis  of  trie  same  procedure. 
However, users who provide groundhandling services at the airport in question 
or have  direct  or indirect  control  over  an undertaking  which provides such 
services may in that case not take part in the vote. 

2.  Where the number of supphers is limited in accordance with Article 6(2) or Article 9, 
the managing body of the airport may itself provide groundhandling services without 
being  subject  to  the  selection  procedure  laid  down in  paragraph  1.  Also,  it  may, 
without  submitting  it  to  the  said  procedure,  authorize  an  undertaking  to  provide 
groundhandhng services at the airport in question 

if it controls that undertaking directly or indirectly, or 

if the undertaking controls it directly or indirectly. 

Article  11 

Consultations 

Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  organize  a  compulsory  consultation 
procedure  between  the  managing  body  of  the  airport,  the  Users'  Committee  and  the 
undertakings providing services.  This consultation shall  cover, inter alia, the price of those 
services which have been exempted by the Commission pursuant to Article 9 as well  as the 
organization of the provision of  the services.  Such consultation shall  be organized at least 
once every year. 

Article 12 

Approval 

1. 

Member  States  may  make  the  activity  of  a  supplier  of  groundhandling  services 
conditional  upon  obtaining  the  approval  of  a  public  authority  independent  of  the 
managing body of the airport. 

The approval criteria must relate to the security and safety of the installations, of the 
aircraft,  of  the  equipment  and  of  persons,  as  well  as  to  the  protection  of  the 
environment. 

The criteria must be published and the supplier must be informed beforehand of the 
approval procedure. 

2. 

Approval may be withheld only if the suppher does hot meet, for reasons offris doing, 
the criteria referred to in paragraph 1. 

26 

The  grounds  for  withholding  approval  must  be  communicated  to  the  suppher 
concerned 

Article  13 

Rules of conduct 

1. 

A Member State may withdraw its approval of a suppher or prohibit a user from self-
handling if that suppher or user fails to comply with the rules imposed upon him to 
ensure the proper functioning of the airport. 

The rules must embody the following principles: 

(a) 

they must be applied in a non-discriminatory manner to the various supphers 
and users; 

(b) 

they must relate to the intended objective; 

(c) 

they may not in practice reduce market access or the freedom to  self-handle 
to a lesser degree than that provided for in this Directive. 

A Member State may, in particular, require suppliers of groundliandling services at an 
airport to participate in a fair  and non-dscriminatory manner in carrying  out public 
service  obligations  laid  down in national laws  or rules,  including the  obligation to 
ensure continuous service. 

Article  14 

Access to installations 

Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  supphers  of 
groundhanoling  services  and  users  wishing  to  self-handle  have  access  to  airport 
installations to the extent necessary for them to exercise their rights. If the managing 
body of the airport or, where appropriate, the public authority which controls it places 
conditions upon such access, those conditions must be relevant, objective, transparent 
and non-discriminatory. 

The  space  available  at  an airport must  be  divided  among  the  various  supphers  of 
groundhandling  services  and self-handling  users on the basis of relevant, objective, 
transparent and non-discriminatory rules and criteria.  These rules and criteria may not 
give  supphers  aheady  operating  at  an  airport  or  users  already  self-handling  an 
advantage over new entrants. 

Access  to  airport  installations  for  supphers  of  groundhandling  services  and  users 
wishing to self-handle  may give rise to the collection of a fee  intended to cover the 
costs which this access occasions for the airport and reflecting the level  of the costs. 
This  fee  must  be  determined  according  to  objective,  transparent  and  non 
discriminatory criteria. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

27 

Article  is 

Safety and security 

The provisions of this Directive in no way affect the rights and obhgations of Member States 
in respect of safety and security at airports. 

Article 16 

Reciprocity 

1.  Without  prejudice  to  the  international  commitments  of  the  Community,  when  it 
appears that, in terms of access to the groundhandling or self-handling market, a third 
country: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

is not, de_jlffe_or  de facto, granting Community supphers and users treatment 
equivalent to that reserved by Member States for  the  supphers and users of 
that third country, or 

is not, de jure or de facto, granting Community supphers and users treatment 
equivalent to that granted to national supphers and users, or 

is,  de jure or de facto, granting supphers and users from one  or more other 
third countries a more favourable treatment than that reserved for Community 
supphers and users, 

the  Commission may suspend,  in  full  or in part, the  obhgations  arising from this 
Directive with regard to supphers and users from that third country. 

2. 

Member  States  shall  inform  the  Commission  of  any  serious  difficulty,  de jure  or 
de  facto,  encountered  in  third  countries  by  Community  supphers  in  providing 
groundhandling services or by Community users in self-handling. 

Article 17 

Right of appeal 

Member States shall ensure that any party with a legitimate interest has the right to appeal 
against the decisions taken pursuant to Articles 7(2) and 10-14. 

It must be possible  to bring the appeal  before  a national  court or another pubhc  authority 
independent of the managing body of the airport concerned and, where appropriate,  of the 
pubhc authority controlling it. 

ArJtekLl& 

Information report 

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the information required by it to draw 
up a report on the application of this Directive. 

28 

The report shall be drawn up in the two years following  the date referred to in Articles 6(1) 
and 7(1). 

Article  19 

Implementation 

Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
necessary to comply with this Directive by 30 June  1996. They shall immediately inform the 
Commission thereof. 

When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain a reference to this Directive 
or  shall  be  accompanied  by  such reference  at  the  time  of  their  official  pubhcation.  The 
procedure for such reference  shall be adopted by Member States. 

Articled 

Entry into force 

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its pubhcation in 
the Official  Journal of the European Communities. 

Article 21 

Addressees 

This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the Council 
The President 

29 

ANNEX 

List of groundhandling services 

1. 

Ground administration and supervision comprise 

representation and liaison services with local authorities or any other entity, 
disbursements on behalf of the carrier  and provision of office  space  for  its 
representatives 

load control and communication 

handling, storage and administration of unit load devices 
any other supervision services before, during or after the flight and any other 
administrative service requested by the user. 

2. 

3. 

Passenger handling comprises any kind of assistance to arriving, departing, transfer 
or transit passengers, in or outside the airport, including checking tickets and travel 
documents, registering baggage and carrying it to the sorting area. 

Baggage handling comprises handling baggage in the sorting area, sorting it, preparing 
it for  departure, loading it onto and unloading it from devices aimed at carrying it 
from  the aircraft to the sorting area and conversely. 

4. 

Freight and mail handling comprises 

for freight: physical handling of export, transit and import freight, handling of 
related  documents, customs procedures  and implementation  of  any security 
procedure agreed with the carrier or imposed by the circumstances 

for mail: handling of incoming and outgoing mail, of related documents and 
implementation of any security procedure agreed with the carrier or imposed 
by the circumstances. 

5. 

Ramp handling comprises 

the leading of the aircraft on the ground at arrival and departure 

the assistance to aircraft parking and provision of suitable devices 

the organization of communication between the aircraft and the ground 

the loading and unloading of the aircraft, including the provision and operation 
of suitable means as well as the transport of crew and passengers between the 
aircraft  and the terminal 

the provision and operation of appropriate units for engine starting 

30 

the organization of safety measures against fire and other risks, as well  as the 
provision and operation of appropriate devices 

the moving of the aircraft at arrival and departure, as well as the provision and 
operation of suitable devices. 

6. 

Aircraft  servicing  comprises 

the external and internal cleaning of the aircraft, the toilet and water services 

the cooling and heating of the cabin, the removal of snow and ice, the de-icing 
of the aircraft, the rearrangement of the cabin with suitable cabin equipment, 
the storage of this equipment. 

7. 

Fuel and oil handling comprises 

the organization and execution of fueling  and defueling operations, including 
the storage of fuel and the control of the quality and quantity of fuel deliveries 

the replenishing of oil and other fluids. 

8. 

Aircraft  maintenance comprises 

routine services performed before flight 

non-routine services requested by the carrier 

the provision and administration of spare parts and suitable equipment 

the provision of or arrangment for a suitable parking and/or hangar space. 

9. 

Flight operations and crew administration comprise 

the preparation of the flight at the departure airport or at any other point 

the in-flight  assistance, including ^despatching if needed 

the post-flight  activities 
the crew administration 

10. 

Surface transport comprises 

the  organization and execution of  crew, passenger, baggage,  cargo and mail 
transport  between  the  airport  and  any  other  point  or  between  different 
terminals of the same  airport, but excluding  the same transport between the 
aircraft  and any other point 

any special transport requested by the carrier. 

31 

11. 

Catering services comprise 

the haison with supphers and administrative management 

the transport, loading unto and unloading from the plane of food and beverages 

the storage of food, beverages and equipment needed for their preparation 

the cleaning of this equipment 

the preparation and delivery of 

equipment as well as of bar and food supplies. 

32 

ASSESSMENT  FORM FOR THE IMPACT ON 
COMPETrnVITY  AND EMPLOYMENT 

Proposal for a Council Directive on access to the groundhandling market 
at Community airports 

1.  What  is the main justification  for this measure? 

•  opening to competition  of groundhandling  services by third parties and of  self-handling 

•  opening  adapted  to  the  specificity  of  the  market  and  to  constraints  of  security,  safety, 

capacity  and available space. 

2.  Characteristics  of the entreprises  concerned  : 

In particular : 

• 

• 

are a great number of  SME's concerned? 

No 

are there concentrations  in certain 

regions?  No 

•  eligibility  for regional aids in Member  States? 

No 

•  eligible for  ERDF?  No 

3.  What constraints  are imposed on the entreprises? 

None 

4.  What  constraints  are  likely  to  be  imposed  indirectly  on  the  entreprises  by  way  of  local 

authorities? 

None 

5.  Are there special measures for  SMEs? 

No 

•  Which? 

6.  What is the foreseeable  impact on : 

• 

the competitivity  of the entreprises? 

opening to certain entreprises of a market which is reserved at present. 

• 

employment? 

no foreseeable  impact. 

7.  Have the social partners been consulted? 

Yes 

•  Opinion of the social partners? 

33 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(94) 590 final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

08 07 

Catalogue number : CB-CO-94-695-EN-C 

ISBN 92-77-84296-2 

Office for Offîcial Publications of the European Commuziities 
L-2985 Luxembourg